Posts Categorized: Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign

Stop the Jewish National Fund is an international campaign aimed at ending the role of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeIsrael/JNF-KKL) in:

*the on-going displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their land
*the theft of their property
*the funding of historic and present day colonies, and
*the destruction of the natural environment

The JNF continues to serve as a global fundraiser for Israeli ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid. Despite its historic role in a State institution of Israel (the Israel Land Authority) and in institutionalized racism and apartheid, the JNF and its affiliate organizations enjoy charitable status in over 50 countries and many also enjoy consultative status with the United Nations. In addition to the ongoing struggles against the JNF-KKL in Palestine, the campaign is underway in Canada, France, Britain, South Africa and the United States.

Let the JNF know, they are NOT WELCOME in NYC! Join us for a rally on Sunday, September 18 at their National Conference in NYC or spread the word to those in the area Join the Stop the JNF campaign and its partners, the US Palestinian Community Network, American Muslims for Palestine, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, the US Campaign to End the Israeli… Read more »

The Stop the JNF Campaign is calling for activists for Palestinian rights to take action between March 30 (Land Day) and April 18 (Tax Day) to amplify efforts targeting the Jewish National Fund for its role in the ongoing displacement of Palestinians from their land. The JNF enjoys tax-exempt status as a charitable organization in… Read more »

Enduring Roots: Over a Century of Resistance to the Jewish National Fund” is a 40-minute documentary chronicling stories of al-Nakba survivors, interviews with their descendants the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, and the current and growing resistance to the ongoing colonization of Palestine facilitated in large part by the Jewish National Fund.

The Stop the JNF Campaign is Organizing a Land Defense Delegation to Palestine in spring of 2015. View and download the flyer here.

Campaign and delegation goals: Build connections between the Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign and diverse land based, indigenous sovereignty, and environmental justice struggles; Introduce organizers working on these struggles to their counterparts in Palestine for longer term joint struggle efforts, including the Stop the JNF campaign.

Beginning on the day that marks the New Year for Trees, Tuesday, February 3 is the Jewish holiday of Tu B’shvat, which honors the sacred miracle of trees. In many Jewish traditions, trees are celebrated as one of the most central symbols of life, and in Jewish law, there are strict prohibitions against destroying trees.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, leaders of the religious Zionist movement began a custom of planting trees in Jewish colonies in Palestine as part of a celebration of Tu B’shvat. In 1901, this tradition was then adopted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for its “Plant a Tree in Israel” Campaign. Since then, the JNF has shamelessly exploited Tu B’shvat as an opportunity to raise international funds and support for its tree plantings, which function to greenwash Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

The goal of this JNF eBook is to show how Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid are served by and depend on the environmental racism and destructiveness of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The struggle for home, land and justice by Palestinians is understood as inherently connected to struggles around the world against historic and contemporary forms of colonialism and racism, against militarism and war, and against foreign interventions, including in Southwest Asia/North Africa. Understanding the environmental racism practiced by the JNF also helps us to see how the Palestinian struggle is integral to movements for environmental justice and ecological sanity.

In light of the People’s Climate Mobilization (PCM) in New York City during the weekend of September 21, said to have been the largest climate justice march in history with over 400,000 attendees, it is important to recognize the shifting landscape of the environmental movement. From a movement that has been largely white and middle class, there is an emerging movement that recognizes the importance of centering the leadership and issues of people of color and poor people most impacted by the climate crisis. Equally imperative, the framing of environmental issues should always include anti-colonial struggles and indigenous rights and sovereignty, as concerns over the environment can never be separated from indigenous struggles for land, resources and decolonization, as was laid out very clearly by indigenous organizers and activists of the PCM.

In the PCM’s effort to cast a wide net and include a broad range of people and groups concerned about climate change, it also brought in some organizations that do not belong in movements advancing an agenda of environmental and social justice. The PCM put out a statement explaining that it “will bring together a spectrum of people with a broad range of perspectives.” Yet the net was cast so wide that it attracted Zionist organizations to participate in the climate justice rally, including the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA), a classic greenwashing organization, whose stated purpose is “to educate and mobilize people around the world for Israel’s environment [and] to protect Israel’s environment,” which includes “planting millions of trees” in Israel.

In recognition of Land Day, the Stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Campaign has released two new tools to support stopping the JNF: •A documentary produced by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Enduring Roots: Over a Century of Resistance to the Jewish National Fund, directed by Alex Safron, co-produced by Sara Kershnar. •A printable version… Read more »

Greenwashing Apartheid: the Jewish National Fund’s Environmental Cover Up is a full historical and environmental analysis of the JNF’s role in the colonization of Palestine and the ways in which it greenwashes ethnic cleansing through tree plantings and environmentalism. Click here for a downloadable version, or email IJAN at ijsn@ijan.net for information on ordering a print version.

While part of this year’s Stop the JNF Campaign’s Plant-a-Tree inPalestine delegation, Alex Safron gathered tens of hours of film footage. Heused that footage to create a documentary exposing the ongoing role of the JNFin the colonization of Palestine and also the growing resistance to it. Creatinga documentary presents an opportunity for the rest of the world to see thereality of what is taking place and experience the importance of supporting onthe ground resistance to continuing village destruction and environmentaldestruction in Palestine. Planting Resistance to the Jewish National Fund:112 Years will premiere at the Nakba and Return International Film Festival hosted by Zochrot in Tel Aviv November 28-30.